People, when suffer an injury like strain, experience acute (sudden) or chronic (persistent) pain caused most of the times due to muscle spasms. Muscle spasms can occur in various parts of your body when muscles get contracted painfully aftermath of an injury. One of the common areas for muscle spasms is your back when the muscle or ligament in your back is strained further than its usual scope of movement. A muscle spasm leads to back pain through quick nerve impulses. All you need to deal with this problem is a muscle relaxant like Skelaxin (Metaxalone).

Metaxalone under the brand name Skelaxin is marketed by King Pharmaceuticals. This muscle relaxant is used to relax muscles and alleviate pain happened due to strains, sprains, and other musculoskeletal conditions. Though it is still a mystery regarding how it works, it may be due to its action on the central nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord. It may stop nerve impulses and painful sensations in the brain to treat short-term muscle spasms. Apart from Metaxalone, patients with acute and chronic muscle spasms need to go for physical therapy, applying heat and cold to the impacted area, and other tested methods such as exercise. But, the best way to overcome this problem is staying active more often.

Skelaxin is orally administered and contains 400 or 800 mg Metaxalone which is the active ingredient in this medication. There are also a number of inactive ingredients such as ammonium calcium alginate, alginic acid, corn starch, B-Rose Liquid, and magnesium stearate. The medication is a marked pink tablet in oval shape.

INDICATIONS AND USAGE

Skelaxin (Metaxalone) as a muscle relaxant is indicated for the treatment of acute, painful muscle spasms occurred in your back or in other muscle groups. Generally, Metaxalone is prescribed by doctors to be used in conjunction with rest, physical therapy and other established steps such as exercise to get relief from discomforts related to short-term, aching musculoskeletal conditions. Its sedative or tranquilizing properties augur well for your pain. However, Skelaxin does not offer direct relaxation to stressed skeletal muscles in man.

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION

The recommended dose of Skelaxin (Metaxalone) for adults and children above the age of 12 is two 400 mg tablets or one 800 mg tablet three to four times a day. Though the medication can be taken on an empty stomach, it has demonstrated increased bioavailability when consumed with food. The duration of the treatment is usually for a short period of time of less than 3 weeks. If you do not observe any improvement in your condition within this period, contact your doctor for further prescription. Never attempt to take overdoses of Skelaxin that can be quite fatal.

CONTRAINDICATIONS

Skelaxin (Metaxalone) is contraindicated in patients who have shown hypersensitivity to the drug or any of its components. Patients with known tendency to drug induced, hemolytic, or other anemias are advised not to take Metaxalone. It is also contraindicated in people with considerably impaired hepatic or renal function.